DESCRIPTION: (provided by the applicant) The UCLA Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Center (OAIC) is designed to promote the independence of older persons by conducting research to develop and test clinical and basic science interventions, and for core laboratories at UCLA and RAND to support aging research throughout the UCLA campus. An equally important component of the UCLA OAIC mission is training future leaders in aging research. During its first nine years, the UCLA OAIC has been quite successful in meeting this mission. It now seeks renewal funding for an additional five years. The proposed UCLA OAIC is composed of five cores and four research projects. The Research Development Core will provide support for junior faculty and research associates via three mechanisms: Junior Faculty Development Support (Career Development Awards), Pilot Research Projects, and formal research training. The Cost/Effectiveness Core (RRC-A), based at RAND, will provide expertise on: measurement of health effects and patient adherence; the estimation of health care expenditures, including models of nursing home staffing; cost-effectiveness analyses; and will provide general statistical and analysis advice. The Data Management Core (RRC-B) will provide both informatics support and data management for projects and awardees who are collecting primary data for their research. The Demonstration and Information Dissemination Project (Core) will be responsible for dissemination of research results to the public and professionals through written and oral presentations. It will also conduct an innovative study that is designed to successfully incorporate OAIC research into clinical settings. The Leadership Core will provide oversight of the entire Center. UCLA OAIC research projects include: an Intervention Study (IS), "Feeding Assistance Interventions in Nursing Homes: Staffing & Outcomes"; and three Intervention Development Studies: IDS-I "Multidimensional Intervention for Vision-Impaired Elders"; IDS-2 "A Diabetes Self-care Program for Older African Americans; and IDS-3 "The Effects of Lipid Oxidation Products on Bone Metabolism". The UCLA Pepper Center will be governed by an Executive Committee composed of the Center Director, Co-Director, and Administrator; each Core Director and Co-Director; and the Principal Investigator of each Intervention Study and Intervention Development Study. In addition, guidance will be provided by an External Advisory Panel.